I'm a staff writer for the Chicago Reader and a freelancer specializing in music, arts and pop culture journalism. My work has appeared in The A.V. Club, The Boston Phoenix, Esquire.com, Gapers Block, Newcity, PopMatters, Rock Sound, Spin.com, Thought Catalog, True/Slant, The Washington City Paper and Wired‘s Underwire blog.

The Problem With Muse's Official Olympic Song, 'Survival'

Matthew Bellamy of British band Muse performs on July 3, 2010, at the Roskilde Festival. (Image credit: AFP via @daylife)

Yesterday British rock trio Muse announced that the London Olympic committee picked one of the group’s new songs as the main official number for the summer games. There will be five official tunes helping soundtrack the London 2012 Olympic Games, but Muse’s cut, “Survival,” is the ringleader. And that’s a problem.

The issue with “Survival” isn’t just that it’s a tasteless, lackluster number. It’s not that it sounds like Muse is in a state of self-parody. It’s not that the band felt the need to throw every orchestra instrument and the kitchen sink into the mix in an effort to sound peerlessly epic. It’s not that the group sounds gaudy and slightly emotionless in the process of recruiting every veritable sound to do its part in the number. It’s not that the tune’s lyrics are a collection of sports cliches.

All of those points may be annoying, tactless grievances on their own right, but put together they inform a message that’s the real predicament at hand. The root of the issue falls on Muse frontman Matthew Bellamy, who appears to have a pretty shallow interpretation of the Olympics. At least, that’s what can be inferred from the song’s inspiration, which the group posted on its website along with the big announcement:

Matt wrote the song with the Olympics in mind. It’s about total conviction and pure determination to win.

Perhaps Bellamy has more to say about the Olympic Games than the hackneyed, empty-headed variations on the theme of a desire to win he shrieks about on “Survival,” but that’s not necessarily the case given the song’s content. And that’s the problem.

The tune calls to mind one particular oft-repeated sports platitudes about winning: “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” But when it comes to the Olympics winning tends to take, um, second place to the “Olympic spirit,” a concept that places the highest value on participation and joining athletes from far-flung parts of the globe in a single arena. Every other time of the year sporting contests are dominated by a desire to win: While that certainly plays a large role in the Olympics and the lives of the athletes competing on the world’s stage, the significance of a single gold medal pales in comparison with the existence of an event geared towards symbolically unifying entire nations.

True, the Olympics can be cast as cultural arms race, with countries going head-to-head to rack up the most number of of medals won, but that speaks more to the power of the event as a template for global narratives that, more often than not, transcend the usual sports story focused on winners and losers. In fact, the two biggest events during any Olympic Games have nothing to do with a specific competition but instead focus on celebrating the act of participation, and that’s the opening and closing ceremonies. Those customs not only bring together everyone involved in the competitions but also rope in viewers from around the world, individuals who may be diehard sports fanatics or may not watch a single sporting event all year. It’s difficult to downplay the significance of such symbolic events, in which the worldwide issues of the day are recast onto a single stage in a hopeful, positive light. (Remember when athletes representing North and South Korea marched hand-in-hand during the opening ceremony for the 2004 summer games?)

Muse’s “Survival” flies in the face of the Olympic spirit’s endearing and enduring nature, and yet it will be the main tune used to soundtrack the games and, to a certain degree, represent the culture of London and the rest of the U.K. Perhaps the committee selected the tune because of the way its opulence evokes a certain degree of pomp and circumstance one expects to hear at something as grand as the Olympic Games. Unfortunately the truisms about competition Bellamy lazily rolls out on “Survival” feel entirely antithetical to the event the song is supposed to represent.

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As everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I gotta say, as far as opinions go, yours…for lack of a more educated word…sucks! This song is amazing and even though I could care less for the Olympics, you can bet that I’ll be tuning in for the opening ceremonies, just to hear this song belted out as the athletes arrive!

You sound like one of those annoying parents at a children’s sports day insisting ‘its not the winning that counts, merely the taking part’. Your attitude is everything that’s wrong with the british mindset towards sport.

I love the track and knw it will be amazing when used at the games, yes we could have asked a pop act to produce a ore subtle number but I salute the Olympic committee for their brave choice!

The problem with your review is that you clearly don’t know a thing about Muse. Really, opening/closing ceremonies are the best part of the Olympics?? They’re the most boring, and the ONLY reason why I’m watching them this year is because of Muse. It’s a competition, and Muse’s song perfectly captures the spirit of it and it’s very motivational…again, if you knew Muse, you’d know they have a lot of motivational songs (Uprising, Knights of Cydonia, Invincible just to name a few). This band always goes big, pushes the boundaries of rock and aren’t afraid to stray the main path. Sure, lyrics are tongue in cheek, but again, if you knew who they were you’d know that…best you do research before you make such ignorant remarks.

Criticism is easy, art is difficult. I think that now, Matt Bellamy, with the press, is suffering from de Freddie Mercury Syndrom. Journalists are simply jealous of so much talent reunited in one single man, so they try to find anything to destroy the genius. Dear Leor Galil, I’m sure you would have preffered a Bieber song, than this terrific, bombastic and outrageous MUSE song, for the Olympics. Enjoy the music and stop being annoying. You simply are pathetic with your dumb analysis.

I am a Muse Fan – I love the new song, BUT the lyrics which I find not to be suited to the Olympic Spirit are: “I WON’T FORGIVE, the VENGEANCE is mine” I am totally opposed to this message – it is rude and unwelcoming to other countries and doesn’t have “friendship” as its theme, as it should. I wonder how many of our British Competitors will feel uncomfortable to be associated with this line.

What’s wrong with all you people who keep on complaining about ‘Survival?’ It’s amazing! Matt Bellamy didn’t sit there and write a crappy pointless song and that’s exactly why all these idiots hate it. If you want to listen to a mindless conforming band, don’t listen to Muse. They’re non-conformists and I think they’re a God send. Rather than write a “oh, let’s all be friends and not compete against each other” song that everyone would like Matt wrote a song that’s true to Muse and actuallly has meaning. If I was an Olympian I’d be so proud to be associated with this epic song – vengeance and all.

Boo hoo, the song isn’t about love and peace and equality and rainbows and unicorns and etc.

Believe it or not, the Olymics main concern is the sporting events and determining the best of the best in a wide range of sports. Everything else, including the opening and closing ceremonies and bringing countries together is entirely incidental. The athletes going there want to win, not have fun and show how well different countries get on with each other and this song reflects that.